Men's Heavyweight Crew

Heavyweight Men Finish Fall Season and Look Forward to Winter Training in Florida

Nov 17, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Having graduated most
of its varsity boat last June, the mission for MIT’s
heavyweight crew this fall was to develop new oarsmen, to learn how
to race and to establish a team identity. The crew made progress
toward these goals this fall, though the learning process included
some ups and downs.

The crew’s first race was the New Hampshire Championships, on
the Merrimac River in Hooksett. This head race is run on a
beautiful stretch of river in southern New Hampshire the weekend
before the Head of the Charles. Unfortunately, the competition in
the College Eights category was light this year. Tech won easily
over Middlebury College, rowing in a very strong tailwind. The next
Sunday, the Engineers tried to defend their top-half finish from
2008 in the Championship Eights at the Head of the Charles. The
weather was terrible; it was windy and snowing hard as MIT
launched. Whether because of cold or inexperience, the crew raced
poorly, finishing 33rd. Fortunately the Princeton Chase afforded a
chance at redemption, as many of the top college crews faced off on
Lake Carnegie, the weekend following the Charles. This time, Tech
raced more to form (though its rate was a bit low), finishing 20th
of 40.

Typically, the Tech heavies finish their fall season at the
Foot of the Charles, but with only one coxswain and nagging
injuries to some key athletes, head coach Tony Kilbridge opted to
skip that race and spend more time developing his young crew.

While this fall’s results were not as strong as those from a
year ago, Kilbridge was optimistic, saying “I really like
this group of guys. Every one of them buys into what we are doing
and is committed to making the crew go fast. If they can stay
healthy and keep working hard, we should be moving well in the
spring.”

The Engineers will move indoors before Thanksgiving, and take to
the water next in Cocoa Beach, Fla., for winter training.